Today’s Inspiration. When I was a kid I was forced to take five years of piano lessons. I’m guessing that in the beginning it wasn’t forced upon me, but after several teachers who kept making me play the same classical pieces over and over again—pieces I didn’t enjoy no matter how many times I had to learn to play them—I got tired of it. One thing I didn’t get tired of, though—and definitely didn’t learn from any of my piano teachers—was playing the fun duet that people now know as “Heart and Soul.”

The thing about the piano duet that is so well known—the recognizable bass line, and the easy melody that follows so quickly behind it—is that the original song with the lyrics aren’t as well known. And the phrase heart and soul was around a lot longer than the song, and meant something entirely different in the Jewish culture. Moses had passed a commandment down to his people from the LORD, and Jesus reaffirmed that commandment as the greatest in their law:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. (Matthew 22:37-38, NIV)

Yesterday, your challenge was to explore the Biblical meaning of the heart. Today, we turn to the concept of the soul.

Today’s Challenge. What is the soul, as it is used in the Bible, and what does it mean to love the Lord your God with all your soul? Your challenge today is pray for understanding and then begin to explore this concept. Then, try to put it together with your understanding what it means to love God with all your heart.

Just like yesterday, don’t worry about building a complete understanding of it all in one afternoon—people have been asking what the soul is (and even debating its existence!) for centuries.

Today’s Participation. After exploring the Biblical concept of the word soul, try to simplify it by writing your own definition. Put the definition in the comments below or use it as a caption in an Instagram post that depicts the concept. Follow @rhondalorraineblog and use the hashtag #writinglifeaugustchallenge if you want me to see it!